I have a commercial application that uses a Qt Solutions component. Until recently, this component was licensed under the LGPL license, so I was forced to use the component in the form of a shared library.
According to this post http://qt.digia.com/Product/Qt-Add-Ons/Qt-Solutions-Archive/, the Qt solutions have been re-licensed with the BSD license reproduced below.
My question is, can I mow use the source code directly in my application or do I still need to create a shared library? (the appropriate copyright notices will be reproduced regardless)
BSD lisence:
This sofware uses Qt Solutions component which is covered by the following license:
Copyright (C) 2013 Digia Plc and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
Neither the name of Digia Plc and its Subsidiary(-ies) nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
** THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
1
Yes, the BSD license allows you to directly incorporate the (new version of the) Qt Solutions component in your closed-source application. There is no need to go the route of using it via a shared library.
Note that the new license only applies to new versions. You got your current version under the LGPL license, so as long as you use that version, you are bound by the LGPL license.